Science and Education in ALBANIA Prof Mimoza Hafizi

Science and Education in ALBANIA Prof. Mimoza Hafizi, Shkoder, 06 October 2014

Albania • South Eastern European Country • 3. 5 millions of inhabitants • 28 thousand sqkm • GDP per capita about 7500 Euros • Member of NATO, EU Candidate member • Capital: Tirana, about 500

Higher Education and Research • First Albanian University (Tirana University) founded in 1957 • In 1990 we inherited 8 HEI, all public • First private HEI started in 2003 • Bologna system installed since 2005 • Now 42 HEI (59!); about 160. 000 students • The financing for education (5+4+3+HE) < 3% of GDP for HE for research 0. 4 -0. 6 % about 0. 05%

Public HEI • Public financing about 460 Euro per student/per year • 15 Public HEI (12 universities), half in Tirana , 6 regional (Shkodra University) • About 80% of students • 700 study programs (270 bachelor) • Tirana University, the biggest one -- this year about 5000 new bachelor students enrolled

Private HEI • Financing about 1100 Euro per student/per year • 27 (44!) private HEI, 800 study programs, most of them non acredited • About 20% of students • No natural sciences programs • No diploma in physics

Engineering Studies • Tirana Polytechnic University (TPU) • The number of new students 2014: about 1600 (bachelor) • Study programs, 22 bachelor: Telecommunication, Electronics, Informatics, Electric, Mechanic, Environment, Construction and Architecture, Engeneering of Mathematics and Physics, Textile, Geology

Studies in Physics 6 bachelor programs in physics: Tirana, Shkodra, Elbasan, Korca, Polytechnic University 650 Students enrolled this year ? ? ? Master of Physics Master: Teachers of Physics for High Schools Master: Engineering of Physics Masters: Teachers of Physics for Low Schools

Physics in Tirana University 100 students enrolled each year about 35 diplomas each year in bachelor studies about 30 in master studies Department of Physics 28 full time members Research Lattice Gauge Theory; Astrophysics; Complex Systems; Biophysics; Solid State Physics

Research in Physics • Lattice gauge theory: Formulation of ultralocal chiral fermion theories; restoration of the hypercubic symmetry of such formulations; multigrid algorithms. Small cluster of 8 PCs; Computing facilities installed in the Balkan • Astrophysics: Gamma Ray Bursts; Dark galactic bodies Gravitational Microlensing method • Complex systems: financial data; stock market data; integration of network analysis and dynamic modelling; crowd behaviour

Activities with CERN May 16, 2011, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Tirana University, one day workshop on Large Hadron Collider. October 8 -9, 2012, Tirana University, two days workshop on Recent LHC Results and Related Topics. Sarajevo School for High Energy Physics, with a continuous participation of Albanian students in 2012, 2013 and 2014 editions. About 7 -8 students each year. In 2014, 12 Albanian students CERN Summer Student Program 2014 --one Albanian student